Take the Terrible Terrestrials to Town
by wombatprophecy
Summary: What happens when Leo the Lion finally steps off his path? A short story personifying the constellations. Because stars are cool and stuff!


Hey all! So I wrote this story when I was a senior in high school for an assignment actually. We had to write a short story and I thought it'd be fun to put it up!

A lot of my classmates actually enjoyed this because it was one of the few _non_ depressing stories in our class. They also all told me I should forget any ideas for my future and become a children's story writer? Ha whatever. Anyways I really HATE rereading and editing so if there are problems, I'm sorry, they're two and half years old (any random numbers at the ends of sentences are footnotes that I'm too lazy to delete) lol

So welcome to my crazy weird imagination (I think I came up with this idea while I had a cold and was drugged up on medicine)

Enjoy!

Take the Terrible Terrestrials to Town

You would think things would change after a couple thousand of years. Well maybe on your tiny little planet known as Earth, but up here the stars rarely ever change. In fact, we hardly ever change, I mean besides the painfully slow paths we all take around this vast, limitless space. Don't get me wrong, I honestly enjoy it up here, there's just always been something missing. Although I may not be like the grounded humans that constantly under appreciate us, I still have those moments where I get the urge to run through the seemingly endless amount of stars. But I suppose that wouldn't be practical seeing as I might run into a few of my friends, accidentally shifting their image in the night sky. The chaos down on Earth would be stupendously frantic, now wouldn't that be a sight to see?1 I would sneak up real close to Earth and with my superb sense of hearing (many have said to be the best) hear the miniature figures shrieking nonsense of "The constellations are shifting," or cries of, "The world is coming to an end!" By that time I would be rolling over laughing, my voice echoing into deep space. Of course the cackling would have to be followed up by a deafening roar for I, Leo the Lion, cannot have the other stars believing I've become some soft, whimsical sort of guy. This entire scenario is of course a childish daydream I've had one too many times. One really does conjure up all sorts of insane ideas when floating about in the sky. Or perhaps it's just me and my absolute brilliance.

After quite some time thinking to myself, I felt confused and empty. Why was I, Leo the Great, stuck following the same pointless path? It was not as if we constellations had an absolute ruler that oversaw which route we subconsciously followed. As I continued asking myself these questions I felt a slight disturbance in the air. The air grew lighter and then the stench of fuel filled my nostrils. As soon as had I smelled the odor my heartbeat quickened. I peered around and coming towards me at a relatively quick speed was one of those Ships, a reddish-orange flame trailing behind it. I had seen the ships grounded on Earth before, but never fully functioning and plowing through _my_ space at that. I moved in place as the Ship approached nearer, straightening my mane and squaring my shoulders to impose my epic regality2. The humans piloting the Ship would obviously know they were sailing straight towards Leo the Astounding, and change their course to navigate _around_ me. But as the small silver coin became a large silver platter 3 I began to panic. 'There's no way they can just fly straight through_ me_, of all the figures in the sky!' I thought to myself in a calming manner to control my temper. Within a few seconds the platter had passed right through my magnificent image.

I stood there dumbfounded. Those common humans had completely disregarded the single most important constellation in the entirety of space! To further my rage I turned around only to see the back of the Ship and in a bright scarlet color the words: _Beyond the Bounds of the Moon_! "Those arrogant beings4! Are they so foolish enough to attempt to travel space? They think they can get away with respecting me so poorly, well I think otherwise!" I bellowed, my face turning white with anger as I let out the earsplitting roar of the millennium; the sound waves forming a clearly visible ripple in the normally still Space air.

One roar was all it took for every constellation out there to know that Leo the Magnificent was not a happy camper. The boom was so intense that even I was surprised by the volume. But I truly was furious with those pitiful terrestrials. I began pacing back and forth on my invisible path; completely ignoring the repercussions I had previously followed to a T. It seemed as though an eternity passed as I continued on rampantly. Then a sweet, melodious voice chimed out, "It's alright Leo, just calm down." I turned to see Virgo staring serenely at me. At the sight of her my nose scrunched up in repulsion. It was not that I didn't like Virgo; her form just too closely resembled those of the worthless humans. Upon seeing my reaction to her arrival she turned away, flustered and muttered "S-sorry Leo. I'll leave you alone." I felt a twinge of guilt in the pit of my stomach. I let out an audible sigh and attempted at comforting her, "No Virgo I apologize. It really is involuntary. You're just too human for your own good." She half turned to face me again and forced a small smile, "Thank you Leo I just-" interrupting her I continued on my lecture, "Now if you had more of an animal form that would be magnificent. There really should be more lions up in the skies. Although I will always be the greatest." Virgo stood there listening and then politely added, "But of course dear, Leo. I heard your roar and thought it was your usual call but then I saw a Ship pass by and started to worry some." She glanced around nervously and waited for me to respond. I don't think I had ever heard her speak so much. In fact, as I thought about it more I don't think I had more than one conversation with her in my lifetime. It was a rare occasion that constellations were able to converse with each other because their paths all flowed in different directions. "Virgo, why are you not on your path?!" I yelled out loudly, clearly startling her. I started frantically pacing back and forth again on the same invisible path that I had ingrained in my memory. Without receiving an explanation it seemed at though Virgo had gotten the message, her face lighting up in understanding.

She swiftly danced around me as I unintentionally glared at her. Smiling, she looked at me, her eyes sending an unspoken message. As if I were supposed to really understand. "Is there something funny about me, Virgo?" I growled, feeling the temperature begin to rise again in my face. 'How dare she mock me, Leo the Fantastic?' I noted. "Leo, you don't know do you?" She inquired, trying to fight back a building chuckle. "We are perfectly permitted to roam wherever we want. You didn't _have_ to stay on the same path all this time you silly lion." I stared at her dumbstruck, not quite comprehending the information that she had just revealed to me. 'All this time,' I thought, 'I could have traveled the galaxies and no one would have given it a second thought!' Turning away to face her I could feel the embarrassment start to soak in. But before I had the time to lash back at her in my oh-so-clever fashion I spotted a wave of stars hurtling towards us. "Oh great," I thought aloud, rolling my eyes at Virgo who looked away timidly, as if she were the cause of my terrible mood, "More _fabulous_ company."5 Before I had the chance to once again apologize for my rudeness, there stood Pegasus. I bellowed out with rage, "Am I the only constellation in the sky that thought they had to follow this set out path in order to keep the humans content?" The other two looked at me with innocent faces, but I could see in their eyes that they were trying to hold back fits of laughter, especially Pegasus who fidgeted around, never fully meeting my eye. "Leo the…Lion," Pegasus started while giving Virgo careful looks, "You have just been so naïve and simple all these years. Don't get me wrong, you truly are the noblest of us all for wanting to keep the humans' world peaceful. But quite honestly they no longer rely on us for help." He trotted along rhythmically, holding his head high above my own. Even as I noted the subtle compliment from the winged horse, my distaste for him was comfortably increasing as he continued on in an all-knowingly fashion. "What with their recent advancements, I see tons of those little saucers flying through the sky everyday. It's not something to cry over, my friend. We've all had to deal with their immense rudeness, but there really is nothing for us to do about it."

I hadn't really been paying attention to Pegasus' little rant on humans, I had done enough of that in the years I had spent thinking to myself, plus I knew that anything he spewed out I could state in a far more intelligent manner. "Pegasus, as the messenger to the stars, I think you should relay a note to all of our old friends. A meeting if you will." I proceeded in the unraveling of my plan with a careful precision, "A meeting to discuss the humans and how they have taken advantage of our kind hospitality. We've shared our Space with them for as long as they knew such a thing existed. Even I, Leo the Superb, had so foolishly acknowledged their delicate feelings while keeping their precious planet at peace with the stars." The energy I was giving off during my speech was fantastic, but while Virgo and Pegasus seemed to admire my determination, they cut me off short. "Leo, we think it's time you stepped off your path." Why, I hadn't even thought of the idea! My tirade began to feel as insignificant as the humans it had included. Suddenly I was stricken with an unnecessary fear of Space. Was it possible for a single misstep to lead me down the rabbit hole 6and never return? I could see clearly the pearly white path that I had drawn out for myself, a figment of my imagination but the very boundary that I had been stuck to for all these years, a duty I had bestowed upon myself7. The others watched me patiently as I stuck a paw out, childishly testing the invisible ground below me like a toddler sticking a foot on a frozen lake to test its solidness. "I am Leo, the most fierce and magnificent lion in the sky!" My exclamation seemed to fuel my courage. With a heartbeat in my throat and billions of Earthpeople's eyes watching, I took a Sun sized breath and planted my first steps off of my path. The immense feeling I experienced at that moment is not one that I can explain these days. "The leashed lion is now a liberated lion8!" I sang to the stars. Virgo let out a relieved sigh, which brought me back to reality for I had forgotten she was still there. I gazed around and Pegasus apparently had grown bored and flew off to deliver my message. Turning to Virgo, I flashed her a toothy grin and said, "Virgo, it's time to take the terrible terrestrials to town."9

It didn't take long for the air around us to grow cluttered with my fellow constellations. Scorpius, Lupus, Taurus, Orion, Ursa Major and Minor, among many others had shown up. They seemed cheerful enough for it was after all a change in scenery. Pegasus, who was wondering among the crowd, had a pleased look on his face. 'What a pompous fool. Prancing around as if he owned the galaxy10' I couldn't help but think as I scoped the crowd for more familiar faces. Of course we had all heard about other constellations, but I was positive no one here knew every single figure on a personal level of acquaintance. "Excuse me everyone," I began at a moderate volume but since no one was really listening besides Virgo and a few of the other quiet constellations. I raised my voice to a volume resembling a loud jet plane found on Earth. "Now everyone listen to Leo the Amazing! Your reunions are all fine and dandy but there are matters that need to be attended to!" Now I had their full attention. "As we all know, the humans can advanced significantly in the last few years. They are travelling deeper and deeper in space without a single regard to us constellations. Why, not long ago a Ship flew straight through me! And without a second thought at that." Low notes of discrete laughter began to fill the audience. Then from the crowd Orion spoke out, "Leo, I see where you're trying to go with this. Those humans have no respect for us whatsoever. See, one day I was out walking past Earth with Major and I overheard those creatures. They were calling poor Major a… what was it again… Oh! A Big Dipper! I mean, what in the heavens is_ that?! _They just don't appreciate us like they used to." He let out an exhausted sigh and went over to the whimpering dog Major.

I mentally tallied everyone's complaints or arguments for the humans and came down to a draw. I could tell by the looks on the other faces that they had also counted the numbers and came to the same road block. Everyone stared at me in anticipation of what I would do next. "Of course we are taking out the terrestrials!" I cried out. Half of the figures jumped up in excitement while others looked at me with disdain. "Who says that you get to make the decision Leo?" A brave soul from the opposing crowd indeed. Others nodded in blind agreement. Oh how I could not stand these constellations and their questions. "I, Leo the Lion, rightfully deserve to make the decision seeing as I arranged this meeting in the first place. Furthermore I am the strongest, fastest, smartest, and most cunning constellation in the sky and therefore being the best, I have the power." I paused, expecting thundering applause and showers of praise. The rest of my acquaintances apparently thought poorly of my speech and stared at me with blank faces. From the crowd came Scorpius and Taurus, both known to be the very strong and competitive kind. I knew this meant a battle for the power to decide the fate of the humans. Without a single spoken word, I knew at that moment what was soon to come: a race. 11

The invisible line between the Sun and Mercury stood as our own starting line for the race. Pegasus was acting as the referee and came out of the crowd with a booming voice, "Alright guys, first person to circle around the Milky Way Galaxy three times wins the decision about the humans and… oh well you know the drill." He lifted one of his wings, to act as a flag, as we readied ourselves. I glanced over my shoulder to see my fans and then it occurred to me. I hadn't seen Virgo since the meeting had started. "Pegasus, where is Virgo?" I started to worry. "No idea kid. Three, two, one, GO!" He let his wing fall and we raced off. I saw the marvelous stars pass by me in tiny trails of light. Never before had I experienced the beauty of space in such an astounding way. It was the first time I had ever thought of something so astounding other than me.

The three of us were essentially neck-in-neck as we flew past the sun for the second time, the cheers from our spectators trailing behind us. Even in the second pass I still saw no present sign of Virgo and my mind wondered off to the worst. We were coming up on Earth when I spotted a magnificent glowing near the Earth's moon. "Virgo!" I cried out. I ventured off the race course and towards her, the light radiating from her stars practically blinding me. "You were by Earth this entire time? But why, those humans are-" Interrupting me, she smiled, "Leo, once again your way of looking at things is all wrong. See?" She point to the Earth where tons and tons of humans were gathered with telescopes and seeing devices of all kinds, pointing and admiring the brightly shining stars. I had never seen anything like it in my entire existence. 'They really do see us.' I thought and looking down my demeanor instantly changed, my owns stars sending out intense brightness which was surprisingly comforting. I understood that all this time, the humans just wanted to be able to observe us in our nature and could only do so with the Ships. 12

I never did win the race. However the two contenders didn't really want to have to make the decision anyway. They only wanted to prove me wrong in the presence of, well basically everyone in all existence. It didn't take long for the 'take the terrestrials down' fiasco to boil down to just a fun story we retold at future gatherings, which became somewhat of a tradition among us. Being the humble lion that I am, I still recall those first kitten steps into this infinite possibility and regard them with adoration. Although I can't say I am completely at ease with the humans, at least I tolerate them more than I had before. I have even grown to enjoy the company of the other constellations although my stars will always shine the brightest.

Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave me a comment or rating or just your thoughts on it :)


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